"i would love to live like a river flows, carried by the surprise of its own unfolding."
— john o'donohue

Saturday, October 13, 2007

deafening noise in goryeong

this is why on tuesdays and fridays, when i return from performing for THE CHILDREN in goryeong, i collapse onto my sofa and can't even get up to make dinner....! in this clip, woopi (my co-teacher) is doing roll call for the 6th grade class.....as you will notice, the kids freely get out of their seats, mill around, try to choke each other, hit each other over the head SO hard it makes me wince, and they talk, they talk and talk and talk no matter what is going on in class.....let's say i am teaching a lesson on fruits and vegetables, well as you can guess, they are talking....in korean....to each other....and it doesn't matter how many times woopi or i say, "BE QUIET," "SSSSHHHH," "STOP!" they just keep on talking and talking and talking and of course whenever they feel so moved they get up and mill around and more than occasionally slap each other over the head, pull hair, or try out the lastest taekwondo move they have just learned! apparently this is the nature of elementary school education (thank god i changed my major to psychology way back in the day!)....so, instead of freaking out and feeling as though the chaos is going to swallow me whole, i just laugh....i laugh and laugh and laugh until i'm making as much noise as they are.....i mean, what else can you do? (check out the cool pencil boxes/pouches that the girls have!!)

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Bodhisattva:

About Me

2007-2008: ...and so, for her thirtieth year, she is embarking upon a pilgrimage abroad...teaching english at a university in south korea, making her way to ancient buddhist temples nestled high in the mountains where monks and nuns rise early to chant and pray, relying on the kindness of strangers and a lightness of heart, and meeting challenges and fears along the way that she is ever-so-ready to befriend.
2008-2009: ...and now, for a second year, she is returning to korea....to her high rise sanctuary and an abundance of red pepper paste...to a vibrant, growing community of friends, students and colleagues...to not a day going by without some measure of surprise and unexpected kindness.
herein lies her journey...